MLB: The Worst Players on Every NL Team

Heading into the final quarter of the MLB season, these are the worst players for each National League team this year.

The worst players on each American League team came out previously, now it’s time to look at the National League. This list includes some MLB players who have been hurting their teams on a regular basis all year long and some players who are new to their teams but have been really bad in a short period of time. There are aging veterans and raw rookies. There are pitchers and hitters, with hitters outnumbering pitchers by double, ten to five.

Some of these players have had their fair share of bad luck. A hitter may have a Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) that is well below his career mark. A pitcher could be bitten by the BABIP bug in the opposite direction or giving up more home runs per fly ball than would be expected. For many of these players, I’ve tried to identify why they may be having off years, whether it be an injury or underperformance for another reason.

I’ve tried to identify players who are currently still on his team’s roster or are due back from an injury. I’ve also included other players in contention for the worst player on the team award in most cases, even if they have been traded away or sent to the minors.

To create this list, I started with the two versions of Wins Above Replacement, Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs. I used WAR to narrow the list down, then made my choice from those players who have provided the least value to their respective teams. For pitchers, I used the Fangraphs WAR based on Runs Allowed (RA9-WAR) rather than FIP. Here are the worst players on each team in the National League.

Next: The Diamondback Dud

SP Patrick Corbin, 4-13, 5.68 ERA, 1.66 WHIP in 134 2/3 IP

-1.6 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-1.6 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

The contenders for worst player on the Diamondbacks so far this year are almost exclusively pitchers, with the exception of Brandon Drury, whose .251/.297/.407 hitting and below-average fielding have combined to make him a sub-replacement level player. Still, Drury hasn’t been as bad as a trio of Diamondback pitchers—Patrick Corbin, Daniel Hudson, and Shelby Miller.

Miller is the big name because the Diamondbacks traded a haul of players to the Braves in the offseason to get him. One of those players was was outfielder Ender Inciarte, who has been much more valuable than Miller all by himself. Another was last year’s first overall pick Dansby Swanson, who was recently called up the Braves and had a special edition baseball card from Topps created for his MLB debut.

Miller was lit up for a 7.14 ERA in 14 starts with the big league club while also spending some time on the DL. He’s now in AAA and has a 3.55 ERA in six starts over the last month. That’s at least an encouraging sign.

Daniel Hudson has been awful in relief, with a 6.20 ERA in 45 innings. Despite his terrible year, he’s been used in the eighth inning 37 times in 52 appearances. It’s only been the last few weeks that Chip Hale has moved him out of the setup role.

Drury, Miller, and Hudson have all been bad, but Patrick Corbin has been the worst. This is a guy who was 14-8 with a 3.41 ERA in 2013, then missed all of the 2014 and part of 2015 with Tommy John surgery. He came back strong last year post-injury with a 6-5 record and 3.60 ERA in 16 starts.

This year has been a trainwreck. Corbin is 4-13 with a 5.68 ERA. His strikeout rate is down, his walk rate is up, and he’s giving up more home runs than he ever has. His fastball velocity is also down a tick and he isn’t finding the strike zone like he once did (40.8 percent zone percentage compared to 44.0 percent for this career). He was recently moved to the bullpen, where he’s had one good appearance and one bad one.

Next: The Brutal Brave

SP Aaron Blair, 0-5, 7.99 ERA, 1.76 WHIP in 50 2/3 IP

-1.4 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-1.4 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

The battle for worst player on the Atlanta Braves in 2016 came down to two men: catcher A.J. Pierzynski and starting pitcher Aaron Blair. Blair is currently on the DL in the minor leagues and Pierzynski is on the Major League DL.

Pierzynski has been very bad this year. He’s hitting .218/.237/.305, with a 39 wRC+. There have been 25 catchers with 240 or more plate appearances in 2016 and Pierzynski has hit better than just one, Yan Gomes. Pierzynski is 39-years-old and is a free agent at the end of the year, so this could be it for him.

As bad as Pierzynski has been, Blair has hurt the Braves more. He’s 0-5 with a 7.99 ERA in 11 starts. It wasn’t supposed to be this way for Blair. He was acquired by the Braves in the offseason trade with Arizona that sent Shelby Miller to the Diamondbacks. Before that, Blair was a first round pick in 2013 who appeared on multiple top-100 prospect lists in each of the last two seasons. He was ranked as high as #40 on the Baseball-America list.

This year, Blair had three fine starts in AAA before being called up and making his Major League debut on April 24. He was okay for three starts, then struggled in an abbreviated outing against the Phillies on May 12. His next start was ugly when he was blasted by the Pittsburgh Pirates for nine earned runs in 1 1/3 innings on May 17.

That got him a ticket back to the Gwinnett Braves. He came up again in May and had a rough series of six starts that culminated with an outing against the Mets in which he gave up eight runs. Blowup starts have been an issue for Blair. He’s given up six or more earned runs in four of his 11 starts.

With both Blair and Pierzynski not currently active with the Braves, I should mention a third player, Erick Aybar, who hit .242/.293/.313 before being traded to the Tigers a few days ago. A fourth contender for worst player on the Braves is left-handed reliever Eric O’Flaherty, with a 6.91 ERA in 28 2/3 innings. He was put on the DL on Friday. I guess it’s a positive sign that the four worst players on the Braves so far this season are not currently on the team’s active Major League roster, but that still leaves the question of who’s the worst of the players who are left.

I’ll go with Gordon Beckham, an infielder who had one good stretch of 103 games in his rookie year way back in 2009 (.270/.347/.460) and hasn’t been a league average player since, yet he still gets 200 or more plate appearances every year. He might be the new Willie Bloomquist at this point; the embodiment of replacement level.

Next: A Cringeworthy Cub

C Miguel Montero, .197/.317/.314, 25 R, 5 HR, 24 RBI in 224 PA

-0.8 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-1.1 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

The Chicago Cubs’ lineup has scored the second-most runs in the National League and are third in all of baseball in scoring, behind only the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies. Their lineup is deep, with numerous above-average hitters, including a pair of MVP candidates in Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo.

There are some holes, though. Jason Heyward is having his worst year at the plate, although he has made up for it with great defense in the outfield. The one regular worse than Heyward at the plate is Miguel Montero, who is hitting .197/.317/.314 after a 3-for-5 day on Saturday.

Montero was an average hitter as recently as last year, when he hit .248/.345/.409. His struggles this year are at least in part due to a very low .232 Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP). His career BABIP is .301. If you adjust his batting line by adding in enough singles to get him to a .300 BABIP, he would be hitting .247/.359/.365. That’s hypothetical, of course, and the reality is that Montero has hurt the Cubs more than any other player.

The good news for Cubs fans is that Montero is now in a three-person job share at catcher and the other two guys are more than holding their own. Veteran David Ross is hitting .237/.350/.458 and rookie Willson Contreras is at .270/.353/.444. The bad news is that Montero still has one more year and $14 million left on his contract after this season.

Next: The Reeling Red

SP Alfredo Simon, 2-7, 9.45 ERA, 2.06 WHIP in 53 1/3 IP

-2.1 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-2.1 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

Ladies and Gentlemen, possibly the worst player in baseball in 2016: Alfredo Simon.

Using the Runs Allowed per Nine Innings version of Fangraphs WAR (RA9-WAR), Simon has cost the Reds two more wins than a replacement level pitcher would have. He’s been the worst player on the Reds despite stiff competition from fellow pitchers J.J. Hoover (13.50 ERA in 18 2/3 IP), Cody Reed (7.36 ERA in 47 2/3 IP), and John Lamb (6.43 ERA in 70 IP). Hoover, Reed, and Lamb are now in AAA.

Simon is currently on the DL with a shoulder injury, but has begun a rehab assignment in AAA, so he could return to haunt your dreams before the year is done. In 11 starts with the Reds this year, Simon has made it through six innings just three times. He had a particularly bad start against Cleveland on May 17 when he gave up 10 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Two years ago, Alfredo Simon was 12-3 with a 2.70 ERA in the first half of the season and made the All-Star team. He went 3-7 with a 4.52 ERA in the second half of 2014, then had a 5.05 ERA in 2015 and has a 9.45 ERA this year. Whatever magic Simon was spinning in the first half of 2014 (.234 BABIP) has disappeared.

Two hitters who have been notably bad for the Reds this year, and still remain on their active big league roster, Tyler Holt and Scott Schebler. Holt is hitting .214/.281/.262. Schebler has been just as bad, hitting .190/.261/.349. This is not a good team. This is a bad team; a very, very bad team.

Next: A Rocky Mountain Low

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OF Gerardo Parra, .254/.264/.402 in 297 PA

-1.1 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-2.1 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

Last July 31, Gerardo Parra was having the best year of his baseball life with the Milwaukee Brewers. He was hitting .328/.369/.517 at the trade deadline when he was swapped to the Orioles for pitcher Zach Davies. It looked like a great move for Parra, as he was leaving the last-place Brewers for a wild card contender. Unfortunately for the Orioles, Parra hit just .237/.268/.357 in the final two months of the season. One part of his slump was a drop from a .372 BABIP with the Brewers to .259 with the Orioles (his career BABIP is .320).

Parra’s struggles have continued this year. His BABIP is still down, at .291, and his walk rate has plummeted to 1.3 percent (career: 6.0). He’s walked just four times in 297 plate appearances. This includes no walks yet in 48 plate appearances in August since returning from the DL with a high left ankle sprain suffered in June.

As you’d expect, Parra has hit better at home than on the road. In hitter-friendly Coors Field, he’s hit .304/.317/.500, but on the road he’s a .209/.214/.314 hitter. There are 11 pitchers with 30 or more plate appearances who are hitting better than Gerardo Parra has hit on the road this season.

Looking ahead, Parra is 29-years-old and the Rockies owe him $18 million over the next two years, with a team option at $12 million for 2019 (or a $1.5M buyout). With outfielders Charlie Blackmon, Carlos Gonzalez, and rookie David Dahl playing well, Parra has been relegated to a backup role.

Next: A Disappointing Dodger

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OF Josh Reddick, .164/.227/.180, 8 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI in 66 PA

-0.5 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-0.4 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

Reddick is the default worst player on the team because the truly worst player on the Dodgers this year was Carl Crawford, who has been released. Crawford hit .185/.230/.235 in 87 plate appearances with the Dodgers. He’ll take his $21.607 million for this year and $21.857 million for next year and think about where it all went wrong with his career.

Another player worse than Reddick is reliever Chris Hatcher, who is currently on the DL, like so many L.A. pitchers. Hatcher had a 5.53 ERA in 40 2/3 innings before an oblique injury sidelined him. He’s not expected to pitch again this season.

The remaining contenders for worst player on the Dodgers this year are Mike Bolsinger (recently traded to the Blue Jays), and newcomers Josh Reddick and Bud Norris. Reddick is my choice, but Norris could pitch himself into the conversation. The unfortunate thing for Oakland fans is that they will not get to hear “Careless Whisper” as often as they did when Reddick used it as his walk-up music.

Josh Reddick was having a good year with Oakland before a deadline deal sent him to the Dodgers with Rich Hill for Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes, and Jharel Cotton. Reddick hit .296/.368/.449 in his time with the Athletics. He had nearly a career high in walk rate (10.3 percent) that was just a couple percentage points below his strikeout rate (12.5 percent). With the Dodgers, Reddick has a 7.6 percent walk rate and 16.7 percent strikeout rate. Of course, the sample size is small and Reddick’s BABIP is at .200 with the Dodgers after being .317 with the A’s. His career BABIP is .278. He’s projected to hit .260/.323/.442 by the Fangraphs Depth Charts, so he should be better down the stretch. He’s likely to finish the year with more value than Bud Norris.

Next: The Misfit Marlin

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SP Jose Urena, 1-4, 6.80 ERA, 1.58 WHIP in 42 1/3 IP

-1.0 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-1.2 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

Jose Urena started the year in Triple-A and was terrible, with a 6.30 ERA in 10 innings. That got him moved up to the Major Leagues, where he was terrible, with a 7.52 ERA in 20 1/3 innings. Back to the minor leagues he went. This time, he had a good stretch, posting a 3.18 ERA in 28 1/3 innings.

It was good enough to get him three starts with the Marlins in July, but an ugly outing against the Cardinals in which he gave up eight earned runs in 4 1/3 innings got him a ticket back to AAA New Orleans. He won two five-inning starts with the Zephyrs and was called back up to Miami for the third time this year. He faced the Reds in his last start and gave up five earned runs in six innings. The best way to describe his season would be that it’s been a roller coaster.

Right now, Urena is straddling that fine line between success in AAA and failure in the big leagues. He’s been good enough to have a 2.87 ERA in 116 innings in AAA over the last two years, but bad enough to have a 5.88 career ERA in 104 big league innings during that same time. At the Major League level, he has combined a too-low strikeout rate with a too-high walk rate for an unfortunate combination of bad.

This year has been slightly worse than last year, when he had a 5.25 ERA. His WHIP in the two years he’s been in the big leagues have been 1.59 and 1.58. He’s only 24, so there’s still time for him to become less awful.

One position player contender for the worst player on the Marlins this year is Chris Johnson. Back in 2013, Johnson hit .321/.358/.457 with the Atlanta Braves. He was second in the NL in batting average, behind Michael Cuddyer’s .331 mark. Since then, he’s hit .255/.291/.353 in 332 games.

Next: The Batless Brewer

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OF Ramon Flores, .205/.294/.261, 18 R, 2 HR, 19 RBI in 289 PA

-1.3 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-1.4 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR) 

Flores was designated for assignment on Friday, but his 289 plate appearances of .205/.294/.261 hitting made him the worst player on the Brewers so far this year. He doesn’t hit the ball hard and isn’t particularly good at making contact (20.1 percent strikeout rate) for a guy with no power. He did walk 10.7 percent of the time, but much of that was likely due to his spot in the batting order, which was usually seventh or eighth. He was intentionally walked three times, the same as Charlie Blackmon, Jonathan Lucroy, and Jackie Bradley, Jr., among others.

While Flores is off the Major League roster, the team’s second-worst player this year is still in the starting rotation. Wily Peralta went 17-11 with a 3.53 ERA in 2014, despite a mediocre strikeout rate (7.0 K/9). He’s a ground ball pitcher who’s BABIP has fluctuated from .293 and .295 in 2013 and 2014 to .320 last year and now .365 this year. That high BABIP and a high rate of home runs per fly ball has sent Peralta’s ERA to 6.00 for the season.

There may be some good news here, though. Peralta had a 6.68 ERA in his first 13 games, then was sent to AAA Colorado Springs. He wasn’t very good there either, going 1-3 with a 6.31 ERA, but was brought back up anyway and has had two consecutive quality starts in August. I still wouldn’t trust him, but if you’re an optimistic Brewers fan it’s something.

Next: A Miserable Met

OF Alejandro De Aza, .192/.287/.308, 19 R, 4 HR, 13 RBI in 196 PA

-0.2 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-0.5 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

The 32-year-old Alejandro De Aza is with his fourth team in two years and is having his worst season since his rookie year. He hit his fourth home run on Saturday and that inched his slugging percentage for the season to just over .300. He’s still hitting below the Mendoza Line and has an on-base percentage under .300.

Like many struggling hitters, De Aza has a Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) that is well below his career mark. His BABIP this year is .252, almost 75 points below his career mark of .325. He’s also striking out more often than he ever has (27.0 percent strikeout rate in 2016, 21.6 percent in his career). This could be simple age-related decline. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the year, so he picked a bad time to have a terrible year.

Another Mets player who was a strong contender for this title is Logan Verrett. He’s spent time in the rotation and bullpen and is 3-8 with a 5.36 ERA in 85 2/3 innings. Verrett was recently optioned to the minor leagues but his agent is trying to get that rescinded and have the Mets place him on the Major League DL instead. According to MLB Depth Charts, he is currently in the starting rotation of the AAA Las Vegas 51’s, but he hasn’t pitched in more than a week.

Next: A Phailing Phillie

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OF Tyler Goeddel, .195/.251/.303, 16 R, 4 HR, 16 RBI in 212 PA

-1.2 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-1.2 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

Top candidates for the worst player on the Phillies this year include outfielder Tyler Goeddel, pitcher Adam Morgan, and albatross Ryan Howard.

Seven weeks ago, Howard would have won this easily. Through the end of June, he was hitting .151/.215/.349 and he is not fleet of foot on the base paths or nimble on defense. Plus, he’s making $25 million this year.

Howard avoided this list by hitting .315/.351/.699 over his last 26 games. It’s a small sample size of 77 plate appearances that has only lifted his overall batting line for the season to .197/.252/.448, but at least it’s something positive. He’s hit this well only by being selectively used against right-handed pitchers. Against left-handed pitchers, Howard is 3-for-28. Still, his little hot streak has been enough to make him slightly more valuable than Tyler Goeddel. And Howard did recently hit a grand slam home run that former teammate Jim Thome approved of.

Goeddel shouldn’t really be in the major leagues right now. He hasn’t spent any time above AA in the minor leagues. The reason he’s with the Phillies is that he was a Rule 5 draft pick from the Tampa Bay Rays organization in December, so he must remain with the Phillies all year long or be offered back to the Rays. He’s struggled and the team probably expected him to struggle. Even in his four minor league seasons, he only hit .262/.337/.403. He’ll likely finish this year with the Phillies unless he comes up with a mysterious injury, then go back to the minors next year.

Adam Morgan’s 6.21 ERA in 75 1/3 innings has made him about as valuable as Ryan Howard and just a little more valuable than Tyler Goeddel. He’s had two stints with the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs in between his 16 outings with the Phillies. As an IronPig, Morgan is 6-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 50 1/3 innings.

Next: The Putrid Pirate

P Jeff Locke, 8-7, 5.38 ERA, 1.49 WHIP in 115 1/3 IP

-0.3 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-0.1 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

Francisco Liriano would hold this spot if he hadn’t been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline. He has officially been the worst player on the Pirates this year, but he’s no longer on the Pirates. A few years ago, Liriano came to Pittsburgh after two straight years with ERAs over 5.00 and seemed to be “fixed” by pitching coach Ray Searage. Across the three seasons from 2013 to 2015, Liriano was 35-25 with a 3.26 ERA in 86 starts. He had a 9.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9.

Whatever had been fixed by Searage must have broken again in 2016. Liriano was 6-11 with a 5.46 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in 21 starts with Pittsburgh. He still struck out 9.1 batters per nine innings, but his walk rate shot up to 5.1 BB/9. The Pirates traded Liriano and his $13.67 million contract to the Blue Jays.

With Liriano no longer on the team, Jeff Locke assumes the mantle of worst Pittsburgh Pirate in 2016. He has a 5.38 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 115 1/3 innings. After struggling as a starting pitcher, Locke was moved to the bullpen in July. He’s started and relieved since then but has been much more successful in relief, although it’s only been a small sample size of seven scoreless innings.

You might be wondering about the enigma that is the 2016 version of Andrew McCutchen. According to Baseball-Reference WAR, McCutchen has been just about as bad as Liriano. This is mainly due to a career-worst season in the field. Baseball-Reference WAR has McCutchen worth -1.6 dWAR. They estimate he’s cost the Pirates almost two games this year with his glove. His hitting has been worth 1.1 WAR, so his overall bWAR is -0.6.

Fangraphs, on the other hand, has McCutchen worth 0.9 WAR. That’s still bad, but it’s better than negative. McCutchen’s decline this year has been a big story in Pittsburgh. After four straight years with an on-base percentage over .400, McCutchen’s OBP is .325 this year. He’s also not hitting for average or power and is striking out more often than he ever has. Despite this, the Pirates are just two games out of a wild card spot.

Next: San Diego Sad Sacker

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SS Alexei Ramirez, .240/.275/.333, 33 R, 5 HR, 39 RBI in 422 PA

-1.9 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-2.0 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR) 

Not only is Alexei Ramirez the worst player on the San Diego Padres, now that Prince Fielder has retired, Ramirez is right there with Alfredo Simon as the worst player in baseball. Ramirez’ anemic bat (.240/.275/.333) and well below average glove have combined to make him roughly two wins below a replacement-level player.

The surprising part about Ramirez’ season is the poor defense. Prior to this year, he’d always been at least average on defense and was actually a good defender earlier in his career with the White Sox. He’s 34 now and is no longer an asset with the glove. He’s also hit .246/.282/.348 combined over the last two years. The Padres can use a $1 million buyout of Ramirez’ $4 million contract for 2017 to allow him to become a free agent and it shouldn’t be a hard decision for them to make. He should no longer be a full-time player.

Also in the competition for worst player on the Padres is pitcher Luis Perdomo. He has a 6.68 ERA and 1.84 WHIP in 99 2/3 innings. Most pitchers are better as relievers than starters, but Perdomo has a 9.10 ERA in 29 2/3 relief innings compared to a 5.66 ERA in 70 innings as a starter.

Rounding out the trifecta of awful for the Padres is reliever Carlos Villanueva, who has a 6.09 ERA in 65 innings. Villanueva has allowed 17 home runs this year. His 23.9 percent HR/FB rate is the highest in baseball among pitchers with 50 or more innings pitched.

Next: He's No Giant

OF Gregor Blanco, .228/.313/.316, 28 R, 1 HR, 18 RBI in 270 PA

-0.5 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-0.9 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

If the three worst players on the Giants were in a race to see who ultimately assumes the mantle of worst player on the team, it would be look like a crowd of shoppers at Walmart on the Friday morning after Thanksgiving. They would be jostling, bumbling, and stumbling and ultimately end up in a big pile of negative WAR.

Matt Cain has officially been the worst player on the team, but he was recently put on the DL where he can no longer damage the team’s playoff chances. Before his trip to the infirmary, Cain was 4-8 with a 5.81 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 17 starts. He averaged less than five innings per start and gave up 16 home runs.

In the first eight years of his career, Cain gave up fewer home runs per fly ball than the league average pitcher every year. At the time, he was considered evidence that some pitchers are able to prevent home runs on fly balls, which ran counter to the idea that most pitchers generally will allow about the same number of home runs per fly ball. Cain’s magic on fly balls ran out four years ago and he’s allowed a higher HR/FB rate every year since. He has a 5.80 ER in 144 1/3 innings over the last two years.

With Cain on the DL, Gregor Blanco gets the nod as the Giants’ current worst player. He’s hitting .228/.313/.316 and his glove is no longer an asset. He had been a solidly average or better player for the last four years, but is below replacement-level this year. His rest-of-season projection suggests he’ll improve somewhat, but not nearly enough for a team battling with the Dodgers for the NL West.

Jake Peavy is the third player in this competition. He got off to a terrible start to the year, but seemed to rebound during a six-start stretch in May and June when he was 3-1 with a 1.91 ERA. He then went 1-3 with a 6.14 ERA in six starts in June and July and was relegated to the bullpen. The bullpen seemed to do him some good . . . until Saturday, when he was blasted for five earned runs in two innings against the Mets.

Next: The Slumping St. Louis Slugger

3B Jhonny Peralta, .246/.282/.419, 21 R, 6 HR, 17 RBI in 177 PA

-0.3 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-0.5 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

Peralta tore a thumb ligament in Spring Training and didn’t get back on the field until June 7. In his absence, the Cardinals conjured up Aledmys Diaz from wherever they go and find these guys that show up out of nowhere and help them make a playoff run. Diaz hit .333/.364/.552 while Peralta was out, so he kept the shortstop job when Peralta returned and moved to third base.

He has not yet found his stride hitting-wise, as he has a sub-.300 on-base percentage. He’s striking out a little more often than he had in the previous two years and walking a little less often. He also has a low .278 BABIP. His career mark is .311. Thumb injuries can be difficult to come back from, but Peralta will get time to find his groove down the stretch.

Two other Cardinals in the running for worst player on the team this year are relievers Trevor Rosenthal and Jonathan Broxton. Rosenthal saved 93 games combined in 2014 and 2015, but was knocked around for a 5.13 ERA and 2.04 WHIP in 33 1/3 innings this year. He allowed a .442 Batting Average on Balls In Play. That ugly start preceded a trip to the disabled list on July 25. He’s been there ever since and just started throwing a couple weeks ago.

Broxton has been nearly as bad as Rosenthal but without the excuse of a bad shoulder. He has a 4.70 ERA in 46 innings.

Next: A Washington Weakling

OF Ben Revere, .215/.261/.300, 36 R, 2 HR, 23 RBI in 331 PA

-0.8 fWAR (Fangraphs WAR)

-0.9 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR)

When the Nationals traded reliever Drew Storen to the Blue Jays in January, they were hoping to get a top-of-the-order centerfielder who would knock out 180 hits, steal 30 bases, and score 80 or so runs. It all looked peachy-keen in spring training when the Nationals went 18-4 and everyone went into the season healthy.

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Three-and-a-half innings into their season opener, the Nationals had their first significant injury. Ben Revere suffered an oblique injury that would keep him out of the lineup for a month. He came back in early May, but struggled to a .167/.221/.260 batting line through the end of the month.

Revere wasn’t much better in June, although he did get his on-base percentage up over .300 for the month (.274/.326/.286 in June). In July, he was right back to his terrible ways, hitting .198/.235/.333. And he’s been bad in August, hitting .239/.271/./348. With uber-prospect Trea Turner seeing some games in center field and hitting .319/.338/.546, Revere’s playing time may continue to dwindle.

Next: The Worst Player on Every AL Team

Revere isn’t the only Washington National who is struggling with the stick. Ryan Zimmerman is hitting just .229/.288/.408. He has a below-average wRC+ for the first time in his 12-year career. Zimm was once a terrific defensive third baseman, but injuries necessitated a move across the diamond to first base. He hasn’t graded out well on defense there. Despite his struggles at the plate, Zimmerman has had the majority of his at-bats in the #4 or #5 spot in the lineup. The Nationals have a cushion in the NL East, but a healthy and productive Zimmerman could make a big difference in the playoffs.